Exchanging vows and ‘I do’ via Zoom calls: New Yorkers can now get married legally over video calls

Marriages were among the first few events which were banned by most countries as the coronavirus pandemic can be contained through maintaining social distancing. While in many countries, wedding ceremonies are getting harder to conduct, New York has discovered a ‘one of its kind’ solutions for couples who had scheduled their weddings for this year.

To tackle this pandemic, video conferencing platforms are being actively used by teachers, students, and office goers. However, New York’s government on Saturday has permitted its citizens to get married over video calls. Governor Andrew Cuomo said, "There is now no excuse when the question comes up for marriage,” and added, “You can do it by Zoom. Yes or no.” His tweet read, “NEW: I am issuing an Executive Order allowing New Yorkers to obtain a marriage license remotely and allowing clerks to perform ceremonies via video conference.”

Marriage bureaus have been shut in the state to counter the health emergency. Due to this, couples in the state are unable to acquire their marriage license as the rules demand at least one among the couple to attain their license in person.

Several other local governments in the U.S. including Ohio, have already begun issuing marriage certificates online after a ceremony with officials held on a video call or an online paper-work process.

Apart from the U.S., Indonesia has also opened online marriage services after public workers were asked to work from home, from late March. UAE launched an online marriage service last week. In India, people need to get clearance for conducting a wedding ceremony, with not more than ten relatives, given that the lockdown period is likely to be extended to maintain social distancing until recovering completely from COVID-19.